The result, the player statistics, and the AP poll response.
Saturday, September 5 at 11:00 AM CDT · Bridgeforth Stadium
AP at Kickoff: NR
AP at Kickoff: NR
James Madison's 7-point win on September 5 was followed by the September 8 AP poll.
How voters ranked these teams before the game, and what changed in the next poll.
August 17 AP Poll · 69 Complete Ballots
No voter ranked both teams, so there is no head-to-head ordering to compare. Rankings are not game predictions.
Explore the Pregame Poll →September 8 AP Poll
2 of 69 → 2 of 69 voters ranked James Madison.
Voter counts can change between polls. This describes what changed, not why each voter changed their ballot.
Explore the Following Poll →Choose a team and category to explore every available player.
| Player | INT | TD | YDS | C/ATT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deshawn Purdie | 0 | 1 | 8.5 | 230 | 17/27 |
Liberty · Passing. A dash means unavailable. Dotted terms have explanations on hover, focus or tap.
2026 Season
Results from completed games before kickoff. Points are per game and include all opponents.
0 Completed Games
0 Completed Games
Final team statistics.
| Statistic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 321 | 291 |
| Passing Yards | 230 | 118 |
| Rushing Yards | 91 | 173 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Third Downs | 7-16 | 4-10 |
| Possession | 37:17 | 22:43 |
| Statistic | Liberty | James Madison |
|---|---|---|
| Rushing Touchdowns | 0 | 1 |
| Punt Return Yards | 11 | 4 |
| Punt Return Touchdowns | 0 | 0 |
| Punt Returns | 2 | 1 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 1 | 1 |
| Kick Return Yards | 22 | 36 |
| Kick Return Touchdowns | 0 | 0 |
| Kick Returns | 1 | 1 |
| Kicking Points | 7 | 8 |
| Fumbles Recovered | 0 | — |
| Total Fumbles | 2 | — |
| Tackles for Loss | 4 | 3 |
| Defensive Touchdowns | 0 | 0 |
| Tackles | 32 | 41 |
| Sacks | 0 | 1 |
| Quarterback Hurries | 1 | 2 |
| Passes Deflected | 3 | 4 |
| Possession | 37:17 | 22:43 |
| Interceptions Thrown | 0 | 0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties / Yards | 12-82 | 7-77 |
| Yards per Carry | 2.4 | 5.6 |
| Rushing Attempts | 38 | 31 |
| Rushing Yards | 91 | 173 |
| Yards per Pass Attempt | 8.5 | 6.6 |
| Completions / Attempts | 17-27 | 12-18 |
| Passing Yards | 230 | 118 |
| Total Yards | 321 | 291 |
| Fourth Downs | 1-3 | 0-0 |
| Third Downs | 7-16 | 4-10 |
| First Downs | 19 | 15 |
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| James Madison | 7 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
Compare this game with a measured season average and the typical range.
2026 FBS vs. FBS games started before September 5 at 12:00 PM EDT. 17 of 17 eligible games have both offenses available. Each team-game counts equally; both offenses need at least 20 included plays.
These comparisons include garbage-time plays and are not opponent-adjusted. A typical range describes the middle half of this sample, not a universal good/bad cutoff.
· Higher means more expected scoring value gained.
Middle 50% Average
34 offensive team-game performances. Higher means more offensive value per play in this comparison.
· How often plays gained enough for their situation.
Middle 50% Average
34 offensive team-game performances. Higher means more offensive consistency in this comparison.
· How much value the successful plays created.
Middle 50% Average
34 offensive team-game performances. Higher means more offensive value on successful plays in this comparison.
| Team | Passing | Rushing | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.124 | -0.116 | 0.211 | -0.118 | 0.213 | -0.275 | |
| 0.392 | 0.211 | 0.465 | 0.675 | 0.053 | -0.037 |
All values are PPA per included play. Season benchmarks above describe whole-game offense, so they are not applied to these smaller splits.
Statistics are checked again after the final for late updates and corrections.
